Poll: 61 percent of Connecticut residents support death penalty

Last week we reported on Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s threat to veto a proposed ban on the death penalty in Connecticut. A Quinnipiac University Poll released today shows that three in five state residents agree with her. In a poll of 1575 people, 77 percent of Republicans, 50 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Independents indicated their support for capital punishment.

Of supporters, 23 percent listed the cost of keeping offenders in prison as the main reason for continuing the death penalty. Another 23 percent indicated that it should be continued because it is a fair punishment, and 22 percent said the severity of some crimes warranted the death penalty.

In a statement, Ben Jones, the executive director of CT Network to Abolish the Death Penalty argued that the poll showed a misconception among residents about the cost of the death penalty relative to life sentences in prison.